QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Leaves on some of my trees and shrubs look twisted and mottled. What’s up?
Answer: Twisted, distorted growth, twisting or cupping leaves, bleaching of the leaves, or veins that are white or yellow can be the result of herbicide damage. Weed and feed products are the biggest culprits. People tend to use too much (none would be best!). Then along comes a good spring rain that washes it into the root systems of our trees and shrubs.
Sometimes the damage is due to glyphosate (RoundUp and similar products). If it gets on the shoots from a tree, it causes a very small leaf that looks ragged and ratty.
Once a plant's damaged, there's not much you can do. It does take a lot of damage to kill a plant, and 99% of the time, you won't lose you tree or shrub, but it will look bad for a while. It’s a surefire sign that these products are being misapplied.
If you simply must use herbicides, use them sparingly and very carefully. It doesn’t make sense to kill a short-term weed and harm or lose your long-term plants as a result.
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PLANT OF THE WEEK
Gaura lindheimeri
 Gaura is a Central Texas native named after Ferdinand Lindheimer, an early Texas botanist, who discovered and named many great plants. Gaura is one of his finds, a
sun-loving hardy perennial that survives on very little water.
It’s a small (2-4’) accent plant with spikes of flowers from late spring through fall. This pink variety is ‘Siskiyou Pink’. There’s also a white, called ‘Whirling Butterflies’. The flowers on both varieties look like little butterflies hovering over the foliage as the wind moves through their wiry stems.
Its leaves may suffer a little disease damage, but not enough to warrant spraying it. Once established, it’s pretty carefree, and just needs pruning back a few times a year.
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PLANTING TIPS OF THE WEEK
- Finish pruning spring-blooming shrubs so that they can re-grow and set buds for next year.
- Powdery mildew is starting to show up. This is one of the diseases that doesn't need wet leaves to start up; it appears when humidity is high. We also see more of it in shade, where it likes that more moderate temperature. You can control it by selecting plants that are resistant, or applying a fungicide (like neem oil) in very early morning or evening hours (not in the heat of day).
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THIS WEEK'S FEATURE
Designer Scott Thurmon creates garden connectivity with plant forms and styles, including new compact varieties for small spaces.
First group (for shade)
Phlebodium pseudoaureum
Ming fern
Ramie
Golden globe (Lysimachia)
Japanese variegated sedge (Carex morrowii) Alocasia odora Persian shield
torenia
toad lily
strawberry begonia
Second group (for sun)
Echinacea ‘Sunset’
Blue lime grass
Echeveria ‘Afterglow’
Dwarf Pholmis
Rosemary ‘Roman Beauty’
bamboo muhly
golden barrel cactus
sedums
Agave Americana ‘Variegata’
Dyckia
variegated allium
Dwarf Hamelia patens
Third group (full to half day sun) chartreuse and purples
Agave ferox
Dianella tasmanica ‘Yellow Stripe’
Acalypha ‘Ceylon’ (copper plant)
Butterfly bush ‘Strawberry Lemonade’
Golden pineapple sage
Loropetalum ‘Suzanne’ 3-4’
Phlomis lanata (dwarf)
Little Ollie olive (for sun or shade)
Little Giant arborvitae (30” x 30”)
nemesia |
